India’s Mayank Yadav in action during the 2nd T20I match between India and West Indies at JSCA Stadium, in Ranchi on October 9, 2026.
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak
Not everyone can bowl fast. Not everyone who can bowl fast bowls fast all the time.
Is that a good thing? India head coach Gautam Gambhir is of the opinion that speedsters who have been given the gift of pace should let it rip.
Mayank Yadav is part of the ilk that can bowl fast, very fast. In the series opener against the West Indies, the 24-year-old experimented too much with his pace. His slower deliveries, which lacked deception, were found out and feasted on by the powerful West Indians.
The fast bowler turned out to be a fast learner. He quickly understood he should be quick, and quick he was come the second T20I.
He took three wickets at the JSCA Stadium, all of them high-paced, high-quality deliveries. While Kamil Pooran mistimed a short ball straight up (143.6kph), Shimron Hetmyer (144.5) and Rovman Powell (149.5) lost their stumps before they could react to Mayank’s thunderbolt.
The Ranchi crowd erupting in perfect lockstep with Mayank’s leap as Powell’s off-stump went cartwheeling was a sight to behold.
“He is a fast bowler, and he should bowl like one. If you are capable of bowling at 150, then do that. If you are someone who bowls 120, then bowl at that pace. When you are a fast bowler, it is your responsibility to bowl fast. That’s what Mayank did, and that’s why he was successful,” Gambhir said on Friday (October 9, 2026).
Mayank’s efforts, though, went in vain as India lost by six wickets, partly because of a catch he dropped.
“This is cricket. People have dropped catches in the past, and people will drop catches in the future,” Gambhir added.
Whether it be his fielding or his primary art of pace bowling, Mayank still has a long way to go.
But as Gambhir suggests, his path forward is clear: keep it simple, and keep it fast.
Published – October 10, 2026 09:09 am IST
